Travelling for extended periods of time on airplanes, buses or trains becomes tiring and uncomfortable. It is common to want to sleep while travelling or during layovers. However, the design of the seating is generally cramped and it becomes extremely uncomfortable to lean back for extended periods of time.
Some attempts have been made to solve the problem by restraining the head against the backrest. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,443 and 5,975,638 each show variations of a pillow that has restraining members to each side to prevent the user's head from falling to one side or the other.
Designs have been built for situations where space is not limited. Those designs convert an upright seating assembly to a fully reclined, lay down sleeping assembly. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,659. Unfortunately, the necessary space is not typically available for such a reclined design in most airplanes, buses or trains.
An attractive option is to lean forward to relieve the lower back and neck. During layovers sometimes people will try to sleep by placing their travel bags on their laps and leaning forward to lay their heads on them. There have been attempts to provide an inflatable pillow type device that people can inflate and then lean forward on. For example see U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0167571. However, such an inflatable pillow tends to be bulky and if the person sitting in the seat in front of the inflatable pillow wants to lean back, they will be unable to do so unless the pillow is deflated. Furthermore, if the pillow is inflated, and a person sitting next to the pillow, toward the window, needs to get up to go to the restroom for example, the pillow will again need to be deflated to make room for the exiting passenger. The inflatable pillow solution also tends to be bulky and difficult to stow or carry. Yet further, because taller people require a taller pillow than a shorter person, a single sized inflatable pillow will not be comfortable for everyone. Further still, the inflatable pillow will tend to have a single angle on the surface on which to place the head and that single angle will not be comfortable for everyone.
Devices have also been designed which attach to the back of the seat in front of the user and include a tray on which the user can lay his or her head. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,050,355 and 6,805,403. However neither device includes full vertical adjustment for people of different heights, nor are they readily transportable, nor can they be positioned as desired to one side or the other for a variety of sleep positions. Furthermore, if the person in front of the user adjusts their seat back, it changes the position of the tray on which the user is sleeping.
A compact, portable, adjustable foldable sleeping device is needed that does not suffer from the drawbacks described above.